1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to key holders of the type in which the cases are attached to individual hooks and the hooks are headed elements, the head portion being received into the slots respectively of a key holder body rivetted to a key case. More specifically, this invention relates to a key holder body formed from a single blank and being of a simple and rugged construction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is replete with key holders of various descriptions. Examples are shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,006,182 to Hanna, issued Oct. 31, 1961, and the U.S. Pat. No. 3,309,905 to Shepherd, issued Mar. 21, 1967.
Prior art devices are characterized by having a special separate spring element inserted between the plate and base of the holder to assure that the heads of the hook members are held in their respective slots impeding their escape through the usual slot enlargements.
Other examples of prior art show attempts to eliminate the need for the aforesaid spring plate: U.S. Pat. No. 3,132,504 to Beilis, issued May 12, 1964, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,392 to Shears, issued Oct. 24, 1972. These prior patents, however, require an additional panel of metal extending from the holder to provide the spring runs, greatly enlarging the size of the blank. It has been assumed that such an arrangement was necessary in order to afford the spring run sufficient length to serve as sufficiently workable yet secure spring elements.